Abstract :

Museum storage units are crucial in protecting and preserving the museum’s precious collections in the most effective and efficient way. A well planned and organized storage system not only increases the level of preservation but also helps in organizing the collections it hosts (NPS Museum Handbook, 2012).  However, many museums across the globe are faced with challenges of improper and ineffective storage units hence risking the safety and security of museum objects.  As such, the museums’ essential roles and functions including research, exhibitions, conservation, acquisition and education are hampered. Based on in-house research, this paper explores the reality of collections’ storage units and systems at the national Museum of Tanzania (NMT) which has been in existence since 1940.  During data collection, methods including Museum Storage Survey Method (MSSM) and Desktop Works Method (DWM) were applied to collect information for the study.

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Keywords :

collections, conservation, Deterioration, museum., Preservation, Storage

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